The Best Resilient Ground Cover Plants For Your Yard
Grass might be the most popular natural ground cover for lawns, but it doesn’t grow in all environments. Whether you live in a dry climate, have rocky soil, or have areas that get limited sun, you’ll need to find a grass alternative to ensure your yard is pleasing to the eye. Luckily, numerous low-maintenance and resilient plants can provide excellent ground cover in various challenging conditions.
Some great low-maintenance and beautiful ground cover options for your yard include creeping phlox, blue star creeper, Angelina sedums, soapwort, pennywort, and sweet woodruff. Irish moss and hens-and-chicks succulents offer unique and long-lasting options. If you want evergreen ground cover, consider creeping juniper. Several herb species also offer great low-lying and durable ground decoration, including Corsican mint and creeping thyme.
When you have a dry patch of dirt or a bare area in your garden, don’t let the unsightly situation go unattended. If you don’t want to worry about caring for an additional garden, simply add some resilient and low-maintenance ground cover plants. Below is a list of an eclectic array of fantastic ground cover options. No matter your climate, sun conditions, or soil type, there’s something perfect for your yard on this list.
11 Best Plants To Grow For Resilient Ground Cover In Your Yard
1. Creeping Thyme
One of the best ground cover options for those looking for plants that add color and fragrance to sunny spaces is creeping thyme. This thyme variety stays close to the ground and grows outward.
It’s so durable that it can be walked on from time to time without affecting its health. Creeping thyme is an herb that grows easily in sunny spots and even provides beautiful pink flowers for a little over a month per year. Being an herb, this also has a refreshing scent, especially after you rub it or step on it.
Where It Grows: This plant loves warm or mild climates with plenty of sun, well-drained neutral or slightly alkaline soil, and can tolerate some drought.
2. Creeping Phlox
For those seeking ground cover with real curb appeal, phlox is a fantastic option. Creeping phlox is a particularly great choice if you want an alternatives to grass. What makes this plant amazing is its vibrant and long-lasting flowers.
Phlox, in addition to its beauty, is also dense. This helps keep weeds away and provides a uniform layer on your previously bare ground. Furthermore, it is both pest and drought-tolerant, adding to its low-maintenance qualities.
Where It Grows: Phlox prefers warm to hot weather, full sun or partial shade, and well-drained soil that is neutral or slightly acidic.
3. Soapwort
The name soapwort might not be beautiful, but this plant is more stunning than its name suggests. Like phlox, soapwort is a plant that provides low-lying and dense ground cover. It also flowers for a long stretch of the year. You can see flowers on this plant from late spring to early fall.
It establishes and spreads quickly, and requires minimal maintenance once established. This plant’s long-lasting flowers have nectar that helps attract pollinators into your yard.
Where It Grows: Soapwort loves the sun, but can tolerate some shade. It is drought-tolerant and loves well-drained neutral or slightly alkaline soil. This plant can thrive in cold and warm climates, but doesn’t like being too hot.
4. Blue Star Creeper
Blue star creeper is another dense ground cover plant that thrives in cold and warm temperatures alike. Its name comes from the stunning blue flowers shaped like stars that bloom from this perennial.
This plant is incredibly easy to establish and grow, so much so that it can be quite difficult to get rid of once it’s rooted. Blue star creeper is also a hardy evergreen that can handle plenty of foot traffic, making it a great filler along stone pathways.
Where It Grows: This plant likes full sun in cooler climates and partial shade in warmer ones. Well-drained and slightly alkaline soil is ideal as well.
5. Angelina Sedums
Sedums are a member of the stonecrop family and have a stunning and unique appearance. There are more than 400 types of sedums, and several make great ground cover. Angelina sedums are a great option for those looking for a vibrant colored and low-maintenance variety.
What’s truly special about this plant, in addition to its yellow flowers, is its color-changing foliage. The plants turn a vibrant orange in the fall.
Where It Grows: These plants like sun and partial shade, and can grow in various temperature ranges and elevations. They can thrive in various soil types, as long as the soil drains quickly.
6. Hens And Chicks Succulents
If you live in a dry climate with rocky or sandy soil, then succulents are your best friend. There are several succulents you can use as ground cover, but one variety that is both low-lying and resilient is hens and chicks.
Unlike other succulents, hens and chicks spread rapidly outward, which makes them great for large areas of bare ground.
Where It Grows: This succulent likes sun or partial shade. It thrives in dry environments with well-drained, sandy, or rocky soil. Great for desert climates.
7. Irish Moss
If you live in a cool and moist climate, then Irish moss can be a fantastic ground cover option. This plant spreads quickly and lasts for years. It’s a robust green color, breathing life into previously dead spaces.
In addition to enjoying moist environments, this moss can also handle foot traffic, especially once it’s well established.
Where It Grows: Irish moss likes sun or partial shade, especially afternoon shade. It thrives in moist environments and does not handle drought well.
8. Creeping Juniper
Creeping juniper is a low-lying evergreen that grows in particularly tricky conditions. This plant grows like an evergreen carpet and spreads along the ground. It is also known for its ability to thrive on slopes and hills, where other creeping plants struggle.
This plant is very low maintenance once established and is known for its ability to thrive even in tough conditions. It is a particularly great option for those who live in cold northern climates.
Where It Grows: This evergreen thrives in cool northern regions. It likes well-drained soil, and even does well in rocky soil.
9. Corsican Mint
Corsican mint is another herb that you can grow as ground cover. What makes this type of mint an amazing ground cover option is its dense and short growing habits. It stays low to the ground and spreads outward.
It is very resilient, thriving in cool and moist areas. It provides a refreshing aroma and can even handle foot traffic.
Where It Grows: Unlike many plants on this list, Corsican mint loves shade and moist soil. It’s a great option for areas prone to frequent storms and areas in your yard that don’t get much direct sunlight.
10. Sweet Woodruff
If you are looking for ground cover underneath a shade tree, then sweet Woodruff is a great option. This plant provides a blanket of greenery, but has shallow roots. These shallow roots make it an ideal candidate for bare ground underneath trees, where the tree roots make it hard for other plants to grow.
Where It Grows: Sweet woodruff likes well-drained soil that is kept consistently moist. It also enjoys full shade, but can tolerate partial sun.
11. Pennywort
If you live in a cool, wet climate, pennywort is a great groundcover option. This plant is known for its low-lying and dense round leaves. It offers beautiful green ground cover and thrives in various growing conditions, especially in moist climates.
This plant spreads quickly, and its dense growing habits can help combat soil erosion in your yard.
Where It Grows: Pennywort likes moist soil and can even tolerate full submersion in water, making it great for low-lying areas prone to flooding. It enjoys shade and partial sun.
Wrapping Up The Best Ground Cover Plants For Your Yard
If you are looking for a fun, low-maintenance plant to provide ground cover, you have lots of options. If you want plants that flower, consider soapwort, blue star creeper, phlox, or various types of sedums. If you desire low-lying plants that are resilient and fragrant, consider creeping thyme or Corsican mint. Irish moss, pennywort, and sweet woodruff are great options for wet and shady areas, while creeping juniper is great for cold and rocky regions.
Related Guides:
- How To Stop Perennials From Spreading
- Ways To Make A Back Yard Beautiful Without Grass
- Gardening Ideas For Drought-Prone Areas
Tom Gaffey is an expert writer who currently resides in Washington D.C. Tom has a passion for real estate and home improvement writing, as well as travel and lifestyle writing. He lived the last twelve years in Hawaii where he worked closely with luxury resorts and event planners, mastering his knowledge of aesthetics and luxury products. This is where he found his passion for home improvement and a keen interest in DIY projects. Currently, Tom resides in Washington D.C, and also working on his debut fiction novel.
More by Tom Gaffey
